The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1887-04-23
THE IRISH STANDARD: SATURDAY, APRIL %, 1887

Certainly, the insolent fellow richly
deserves chastisement: but how am to
do it?"
''What, am I not equal to the gods?'
"Assuredly, great Hwangti! their equal
at least''
'sYou said just now that any thing the
mind could conceive, I might execute.
Either you lied, or you defy me by inn
properly carrying out my mandates. /
give you just five minutes to extinguish
the SUM-"
The Prime Minister again walked away,
but this time he failed to return.
The little crowned potentate thereupol.
grew crimson with rage.
'tFaith,n muttered he, ga nice calling in
deed is that of Emperor if must put up
with the whims and brutalities Of daily
circling star. Evidently the sun is more
powerful than I. Would that were the
sun!'
''You are the sum-" said the angel
And the little man, all radient and fam
ing, sparkled in the highest heaven.
He took pleasure in blasting the trees,
drying up the rivers and springs, and COW
ering with sweat the brows of august mon
archs just as readily as the nozzles OF
those who toiled at breaking pebbles by
But cloud rose between him and the
earth, and the cloud SAID:
"Ho, there, my good man, you don't g.
this way!'
by the moon, this is quite too bad
What, shall miserable cloudlet apostro.
phise me thus and stand in my paths Are
the clouds, then, more powerful than II
OH. must be d cloud, or die of jealousy"
Don't die for so little" said the angel,
always on the lookout. 'sBe cloud, since
you prefer it.''
AMI the new cloud proudly took up it's
position between the radiant orb and tho
earth.
Never before, at any time within the
| memory Of the gods, had so many showers
occurred.
The little man, transferred into cloud,
took the utmost delight in sending down
ha and rain upon the earth In so dread
full manner did he open his sluices that
the trees were easily torn out of the
ground, for the roots had nothing but mud
TO cling to. In the few short hours Of his
aquatic reign the streams became rivers,
the rivers grew into raging torrents, tho
seas were mixed and swollen, and fright.
full water-spouts went and came through
space, annihilating every thing that rose
above the surface of land AMI deep.
A rock, however, Obstinately faced the
storm.
The waves broke over it's granite flanks,
deluging them with spray; the water
spouts spent their power at its base, and
the thunder made it laugh as often as the
holt tickled it's sides.
ltremained immovable in spite of all.
81 am exhaustedp' muttered the cloud
''That rock defies me: would that might
take it's place!'
"Well, you may" whispered the angel.
s'Perhaps you will now be satisfied"
The cloud. changed into a solid rock, was
as happy as could be.
mistaken, inaccessible, unruffled either
by the candent caresses of the sun or the
flashes of the storm, the little man now
thought himself the master of the world.
But it so happened that his attention
was arrested by the sharp stroke of ham
mer at his foot
He looked down and beheld poor, mis-
cradle wretch, covered with rags, lean and
despicable as he had himself been at the
hour of his deepest distress; this man.
with hammer in his hands, broke Off
hard pieces from the granite to be used in
consolidating the neighb6ring highway.
whats this?" indignantly exclaimed
the stalwart rock. "Here's a poor creature,
the weakest among the weak, actually
mutilating me! Nor can even defend
myself! I am deeply Inundated, and envy
the fate of the fellow, however mean he
may be!''
''Take his placel" said the angel with o
smile.
And the insatiate solicitant became once
more poor little man who broke pebbles
on the high road.
AS in days past, he toiled in all weathers
and all seasons of the year, in snow and
rain, cloud or SHINE, half dead with fatigue
and fully three-quarters dead for want of
food.
But although his life was load of mis-
cry, he was ever afterward satisfied With
his lot.-Albany Argus.